Friday, January 25, 2008

I used to have a serious case of "plantain envy." I'd be standing in the supermarket checkout line, and the person ahead of me would be placing their big, bunch of plantains on the belt. I would glance down sheepishly at the puny bananas in my basket, suddenly feeling inadequate. The plantain dwarfed my banana in both length and girth. But, I was too afraid to try - not knowing what to do with them, not knowing if I would enjoy them. If only I had known how easy to prepare, and delicious to eat, these tropical giants were!

Well, eventually I had these fried at a Cuban restaurant, and they were delicious! I was shown how to prepare them properly, and I've loved them ever since. Unlike bananas, plantains are not eaten raw. Unless they are extremely ripe, with black skin, the flesh is way too firm and starchy to eat uncooked. In this video recipe I did for About.com, I'll show you the traditional method for preparing the fried plantains, or "tostones," as they are called in Latin America. These would make for an interesting appetizer at your Super Bowl fiesta. I also show a quick dipping sauce that works great with these. Enjoy!Click here for the transcript and ingredients.

Okay, now my supermarket only supplies green plantains, if I buy these, how long would I have to wait until they turn brownish/yellowish, and does the trick of putting them next to apples speed up their ripening process, thanx

Green are fine! In fact that's the most common state to make these. The only ones that dont really work are the really dark, softer ones. The inside is the key. As long is its firm and you can slice it, its OK.

The green ones may take a bit longer to cook however. But, you can test a few. Good luck.

To give your friends even worse case of plantain-related envy, you best won't tell them about the double-frying + segment-squashing trick. Let them believe you actually cut those from your maxiplantainus gigantei that grows to be 4 feet long and has gith 4 inches across...

To give your friends even worse case of plantain-related envy, you best won't tell them about the double-frying + segment-squashing trick. Let them believe you actually cut those from your maxiplantainus gigantei that grows to be 4 feet long and has gith 4 inches across...

I only meant not to use the black ones in context of this demo. For someone doing it for the first time I wanted them to buy the firm plantians which are the type used in this dish. I have no problems with the ripe ones, but it is a different result and harder to work with if really soft. Thanks.